‘…As a Lady of the light side, a master of pure light, I’m not going until you come with me.’
‘Then we both die here, now.’
Kromus came at her. Perhaps he thought it would make her leave, but he was wrong.  Shadie needed to understand him some more. How the dark side was corrupting him was unimaginable to her, but her light had touched him momentarily. She could not, and would not, leave him behind.
Kromus struck her hard at the mid. She blocked, but the blow had too much force. She let herself fall to the side and rolled, then came back up, spinning around and used the momentum to swipe at Kromus at a low right, then arced her blade upwards to strike low left, and then back again. The movement was so fast that the green of her blade formed a half circle blur. Then, with a two handed grip, she activated the other half of her blade and used both sides of the staff to continue the motion, using one side to simultaneously strike high right, whilst the other side struck low left, and back up to high left and low right, the motion blur of her staff creating a triangular eight in the air, each time advancing on Kromus.
Kromus ducked suddenly, bending low, and sent his staff lightsaber spinning towards Shadie. She leapt up high and came back down sending lightning at Kromus.
‘Can’t you see how this is corrupt? You’re using the dark side against me because I refuse to save myself, because I wish to save your life, and because you want me to live. You let your anger fuel you, you are in a frenzy. You are not in control of your actions, can’t you see?’
‘Oh, I can see, all right. I see your stupidity and foolishness. You fail to grasp at the bigger picture. There can be no redemption for me, not in the eyes of the Jedi Council and their petty rules.’
Kromus sent Shadie some dark energy; she quickly absorbed it and let the orb linger there as she spoke, as he kept sending the dark energy.
‘There was for Fane!’
‘So he has returned to the light. The boy is brave and has a lot of power within. Whichever path he chooses in the end, he will become very powerful.’
Kromus paused. Shadie held the orb of energy, though it was becoming a struggle. She could absorb it, but she did not know how to consume it to fuel herself with it as many Sith did, as Lahnius especially had known how to do. She tried to consume it, but it felt as though she were choking on some pipe weed, so she simply concentrated on holding the orb of dark energy in place.
Kromus smiled. ‘You are hesitant to send that back towards me, aren’t you?  But if you send it anywhere else,’ he looked around, motioning, ‘you’ll damage the integrity of this ship and perhaps destroy it and most certainly destroy us both. Not to mention the transparisteel viewport over there that could cause a vacuum and send us floating into space if that orb fails to destroy the ship itself.’
Kromus sent more energy. Shadie did not want to send it back, it was true, even if Kromus might want her to kill them both, but there was so much energy now, sent anywhere else it would destroy the ship from within the cargo hold.
Kromus powered off his lightsaber and extended both hands. Crates came flying Shadie’s way. One hit her, she ducked another. A third, she used the Force to send back. Kromus wanted her to act quickly and she suspected he desired that her concentration would fail.
With everything flying her way, she could no longer hold the orb of energy. She sent it back towards Kromus. It hit him right in the gut and he cried out as he went flying across the room, hitting the wall hard. He fell to the ground, flat on his back.
‘Kromus!’
Shadie ran to him.  He lay motionless on the permacrete floor, one arm bent awkwardly under his back.
‘Oh,’ she sighed. ‘Forgive me, brother,’ she said low.
Then, his lightsaber came ablaze and Shadie instinctively blocked the blow her senses told her was coming, blocking low, as his blade came up high-mid from his lying position.
‘So weak!’ said Kromus to her, his tone indicating disparagement of the emotions that she felt.
He stood. He looked stronger. But the force of that dark energy should have knocked him unconscious, at least, if not killed him. She gaped at him. She had not realised the extent of his new abilities. The absorption and consumption of such power as that which she sent back towards him was impossible and had never been achieved by any Sith or Jedi before.

Continue reading Chapter Ten.

Shadie veered the corner formed by some crates that were stacked high enough to block all view and most sounds coming from the rest of the main area of the cargo hold. Kromus was sitting on some lower crates when Shadie came to him. It was as though they were in an alcove at the end of a small labyrinth, and they were in perfect privacy.
‘Sit,’ Kromus gestured.  ‘Let us negotiate.’
‘There is nothing to negotiate!’ replied Shadie. Her expression hardened.
‘There is,’ Kromus insisted, looking up at her. He let her probe him with the Force, let her feel his intent.
‘What is there to negotiate?’ she said after some time, at last sitting down and facing him.
Kromus waited until she was fully seated. ‘Our relationship.’
For a long moment she just stared at him. Her expression seemed incredulous. Then her expression softened, somewhat.
‘All right. I’m listening.’
‘Thank you. Being able to talk to you, Shadie, means a lot to me. I’m sorry. I’ve caused you so much pain. But many make mistakes. I’ll start from the beginning. I, uh,’ he paused.
Kromus knew some of what he would say would upset her. He also knew a lot of what he was about to say, no other soul knew, save perhaps only Gourd. Others were things he’d not dared admit to himself, things he knew if he’d expressed earlier on, perhaps Shadie might not have left, or at least, perhaps she would not hate him so much. He took a breath.
‘I… I wanted an apprentice, I was still so young, a mere adolescent, but I knew a baby would be perfect for my greedy needs. I could raise it, train it, my own little brother or sister, and I would use him or her to grow in power and let…her sacrifice herself for me if it came to that.’
‘I know that already,’ said Shadie.  ‘I…appreciate you finally being honest about it.’
Kromus smiled genuinely, lightly. ‘When I found out there was a Force-sensitive child on Mandalore, through spies who were among the Jedi at the time, I seized the opportunity and I planned out the kidnap. I took you; I killed your parents greedily. I had assumed the child was a boy, but it pleased me greatly to have a sister, I don’t know why; I was very happy to have a sister. I planned the future out perfectly. Our future.’
‘You didn’t just plan it out, Kromus,’ said Shadie, crossing her arms, ‘you made it happen.  Remember our conversation the first time I killed you?’  That felt like a pang in Kromus’s heart. ”First time:” it implied she intended on killing him again. She was angry, with good cause, but Kromus said nothing, he just listened as she went on.  ‘It all still hurts, Kromus. You betrayed me. Lied to me. But me turning to the light side is not a betrayal towards you, as you told me it was last time I killed you. It was me seeking healing. I could only be more powerful if I healed. And I found that healing among the Jedi.’
‘I understand that now,’ admitted Kromus.  ‘And yes, I made it all happen as I had planned it, Shadie, up until you discovered the truth of the lies I had fed you for my own dark purposes. But…’ He hesitated. This was the most difficult part to admit, but he knew he had to, despite being a Sith Lord, if there was any hope of Shadie joining him again. For the light she had leant to master, he had to say it, had to be a little light himself. ‘But what I had not planned, was to come to care for the child and love the child as my own sister, as though she were of my own bloodline. And I still love you, Shadie. Perhaps your light can sense that, perhaps your light can help us both understand each other’s hurt that my actions caused. Perhaps you can forgive me for those actions?’
Shadie looked surprised. She uncrossed her arms. Kromus had a tear, he felt it, and he let Shadie see it, let her sense through the Force that he was telling her the truth. He let Shadie feel that he would do anything to have her by his side again, anything at all, and if that made him weak, then so be it. Shadie looked like she was holding back tears.
Kromus reached a hand out to her.  She stared at it a long time before she took it.
‘Tell me, Shadie, where it hurts, how I hurt you, so I can understand your pain and anger towards me, so I can perhaps seek forgiveness within myself for losing you.’
Shadie nodded and began to speak.

Continue reading Chapter Nine.